Should I get a pair or a single angelfish

[FreshyFresh]

Great thread! I've been following it since my kids have also been bugging for an angel for the 55g. I picked one up today. A single Koi angle. I assume tri-color since it's reddish-orange, black and white? It's gorgeous. My LFS gets them from a local breeder. He/she wasn't cheap, because this particular batch were ~2.5-3" in size. $15/ea.

I know it's a risk not quarantining, but I don't have much in my 55g.

 

[authmal]

I just added "tri-color" to be specific, because I've seen some koi angels, including some in the batch I got mine from, that were just two. I guess they carry the gene, but it doesn't display on them completely.

With a larger angel, there's probably more risk of thinking other fish are food. That's why I went for just about the smallest ones I could get.

That said, Seraph is probably going to stay small, since he doesn't eat much, that I can see. Refuses flake and will eat pellets, but often doesn't notice the pellets. He spends a lot of time staring at the black back of the tank. Or at the underside of the big piece of driftwood.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Ah.. got it on the 3-color thing. Ours is mostly reddish-orange and black, with some red around the gills (alarming thought at first).

A very mellow fish so far and no issues with his/her tankmates: 2 mollies, 2 platys, female betta, 4 zebra danios, a tiny honey gourami and a bunch of ghost shrimp.

She did munch a few flakes of food today, but certainly no excitement like the other hogs in the tank.

 

[authmal]

The red around the gills is called "blushing" in some varieties. Apparently, on the koi angels, it goes away as they age. Seraph isn't a piglet like other reports of juvenile angelfish that I've seen.

 

[Star_Rider]

just for grins.
angels especially juveniles , size if often referenced to body size... ie: dime sized, the body is literally the size of a dime (excluding fins)
other sizes ,Nickel, quarter , fifty cent

a 2.5 -3" angel would be a young adult (if it is healthy) .

 

[FreshyFresh]

Ed, the body on mine is about silver dollar sized. Young adult sized I guess? My LFS had about 20 of them. Two ~20g sale tanks w/ about 10 in each. Ugh..

How old would you figure it is at that size? How long can a healthy angel live?

 

[FreshyFresh]

That said, Seraph is probably going to stay small, since he doesn't eat much, that I can see. Refuses flake and will eat pellets, but often doesn't notice the pellets. He spends a lot of time staring at the black back of the tank. Or at the underside of the big piece of driftwood.

My koi angel acts similar. Basically just hangs out at the surface of either rear corner, around/behind the filter plumbing. Has only nibbled a few flakes of food in days. I'm hoping he/she perks up.

 

[Star_Rider]

angels can live for a very long time I have one that is over 5 yrs old.
unfortunately it's difficult to age by size as there are too many variables that can affect growth.
typically tho fish grow nearly their entire lives.. but tend to slow as they get older.

I have literally seen angels(p>scalre) that were over 10 yrs old and body size about 6"

I have altum that are 2 and they are almost 10"tall including fins with 4" bodies

 

[FreshyFresh]

My koi angel died 5 days after purchase.

Contacted the LFS I made the purchase at. Apparently they had problems with the whole batch. All angels are "on hold" at this particular LFS. They refunded my $15 w/ out the water sample or deceased fish.

 

[authmal]

Kinda sucky, but kinda cool, too. It's good of them to do the refund like that.

Mine is still kicking, still not eating much that I can see, and then, only pellets. Of course, I don't see any shrimplets in that tank anymore, so it could easily be that it's eating them, along with my EBR.

It also seems that this angel is a slow learner compared to my other fish. I tap on the light thrice (it's my light, so I'm not trying to break it) lightly, and all of the fish bolt over to where the water returns from my AC 70, while the angel... goes somewhere else. He might go behind the intake of the AC 70, or the canister, or behind the heater, under some driftwood, into bacopa, anywhere that it's not likely the dropped food will reach him. It's like everyone else has figured out where food gets dropped. Sometimes, even the adult RCS go that way, although I think that's more coincidence. I'm not sure they're capable of learning much.